Remarkable. Where did all the people go? If traffic flow on SS is a barometer of the market then we are now at a standstill and something dramatic is about to happen. Doesn't matter if it is up or a down thing but when it happens the chitter chatter should start up again. My guess is, because we just had a down thing with Covid, then it will be an up thing bringing all the positivity of a new dawn with it.What do you suppose it could be?

I look at the stocks I hold, have held or might hold and find there has been no discussion of them here, or very little, in a long time. Whereas some discussion can usually be found with holders at HC, plus the opportunity to have a rant. It doesn't help that the older posts button doesn't work for me, nor the say thanks button.

But I read some of the general posts.

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"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears this is true"

"What is prudence in the conduct of every private family can scarce be folly in that of a great kingdom." Adam Smith

for a while it was the Lower and Farty show (in my warped way of seeing things)

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"Every long-term security is nothing more than a claim on some expected future stream of cash that will be delivered into the hands of investors over time. For a given stream of expected future cash payments, the higher the price investors pay today for that stream of cash, the lower the long-term return they will achieve on their investment over time." - Dr John Hussman

"If I had even the slightest grasp upon my own faculties, I would not make essays, I would make decisions." ― Michel de Montaigne

fatigue... now there's a thought. The concept of chatrooms and forums is probably more than 20 years old, and things are moving on.

I'd reckon contributors are getting on a bit, too. We probably fit a certain demographic, and gender. But that's self-selecting, and includes the stayers, those that have found a way to negotiate the market minefields, through highs and lows. Have a bit of time on one's hands is helpful.

I've found the forum useful for storing information. Handy reference points. But then I'm in it for the long term, never felt at ease just trading and prefer the macro overview. Compounding a winner is the way to go. (sell the losers)

I like the collegiate nature of forums. Definitely don't want to go to Twitter or Wordpress or some one-way look at moi site. HC sounds daunting yet infantile and a bit overwhelming. I put stuff up on aussie Stock Forums as well.

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"Every long-term security is nothing more than a claim on some expected future stream of cash that will be delivered into the hands of investors over time. For a given stream of expected future cash payments, the higher the price investors pay today for that stream of cash, the lower the long-term return they will achieve on their investment over time." - Dr John Hussman

"If I had even the slightest grasp upon my own faculties, I would not make essays, I would make decisions." ― Michel de Montaigne

Yeah dunno the reason Mick. I reckon for a long time arty was the heart of this forum. In real life he must have been such a lovely bloke. Not only was he very prolific with his in-depth and knowledgeable posting, he also set the relatively gentle tone of the place. He was even flower's closest mate here and flower used to walk around picking fights with everyone.

The other factor I think is general fatigue. Nothing much has changed in the last decade. I would have thought the drought and the bushfires and the virus and the shut-down would have caused an upheaval but that doesn't seem to have happened. I remember back leading up to the GFC, the first sign of trouble was when HSBC closed some US funds in late 2006 maybe early 2007. Nothing happened for maybe six months but then the cracks started appearing, all hell broke loose and by March 2009 it was all over and the recovery had begun. This time around we have had nose-bleed debt levels for years, we've had Trumpy running amok for almost 4 years (whether in a good or bad way is irrelevant, but there is no doubt he has been attempting to upset the applecart), we've had China become increasingly assertive and still the status quo continues on. I know that you are attempting to change things up with your gold plays but I reckon most people have worked out a long while back how they want to sit things out until the change finally comes.

Kudos to you and nip and eb and a few others who are putting in the effort. If I thought I had anything of interest to add I would. But the fact is I don't.

PS Also, hc is great when you get a real expert or two regularly contributing about a stock. I was lucky there was one of them on Orocobre for several years although he has gone quiet of late. But for the most part there's an inverse relationship between the number of hc posts about a stock and how fundamentally solid the company behind the stock is. Almost all of the chatter is hot air.

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"The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent." John Maynard Keynes

"The crisis takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you would have thought." Rudiger Dornbush

Things are pretty quiet here, and I regularly check hc for a couple of companies, but honestly, the quality of most posts on hc is pretty close to zero. I suspect many investors have settled on fairly safe "blue-chips" for the most part, and there hasn't been any "boom" of note lately. Bitcoin is mildly interesting, trying to improve on bank interest rate is always a challenge, and of course covid has provided some excitement.

Your posts are valued and would be missed.

CheersJ

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"Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits." Satchel Paige